


Lean on Me

by hyperInactive



Series: Twinsweek 2018 [7]
Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: I Had To, also Wow im late for twinsweek but heres the last day lmao, the obligatory Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-09
Updated: 2018-02-09
Packaged: 2019-03-16 00:26:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,036
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13624665
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hyperInactive/pseuds/hyperInactive
Summary: Today was the day.  After months of waiting, it was finally here.  It had been far too long since Taako had seen his sister's face.





	Lean on Me

**Author's Note:**

> hhhhhhhhh wow this is super late. i have had a Tough time writing, thanks executive dysfunction. anyway, i knew id be writing this at some point for twinsweek.

Today was the day.  Barry had been counting down, doing the math that had become second nature over his ten years alone on Faerun.  Months had passed since the Day of Story and Song, months that were spent rebuilding not only the world, but their family.  

 

Not only that, but rebuilding one particular thing, that was incredibly important.  

 

“Taako,” Barry said, pulling the elf into a side room, “It’s today.”

 

Immediately Taako’s whole demeanor changed.  He had been about to scold Barry for grabbing his wrist, but that look on his face vanished and was replaced with an ecstatic and hopeful grin.  A look of wonder, a look that screamed ‘ _ finally _ ’, a look that whispered ‘ _ thank you _ ’ without Taako ever having to say it.  

 

“Are we telling her?” He said, raising an eyebrow.  His eyes remained bright.  Barry cocked his head.

 

“Well….I think she’d like the surprise.” He said.  Taako scoffed.

 

“Of course she’d like the surprise, she loves surprises.  But we’ve all been waiting for this.  Are we bringin’ everyone or is this gonna be a ‘the twins and the third wheel boyfriend’ affair?”

 

“No offense, Taako, but you’d be the third wheel.” Barry said.  It was times like this that he was just so happy Taako remembered him.  During that year where Barry was a nameless lich, he never would have been able to make fun of Taako, which was a damn shame because there was so much good material.  Taako gasped, mock offense written all over his face.

 

“ _ Barold _ .  This is my  _ sister _ we’re talking about.”

 

“So we aren’t telling her?” Barry tried to bring the conversation back to its original topic.  Taako dropped the offended look and waved his hand at Barry.

 

“Yeah, no, we aren’t telling her.  I say you go get all the shit ready and I bring her later.”

 

“Perfect.  I can’t believe it’s finally ready.” Barry said, catching Taako’s eyes.  Taako smiled that small, rare, genuine smile that Barry had only started to see in the final decade of their journey.  

 

“I’m so fuckin’ ready.”

 

* * *

 

“Ok, Lulu, are you ready for the best fuckin’ Twins Day we’ve ever had?” Taako shouted, kicking down the door to Lup and Barry’s room.  Technically as of right now it was just Barry’s room, since Lup was still a floaty spooky lich.  She looked over from where she was hovering by the window and Taako could feel the excitement that he couldn’t see on her face.  

 

“That’s a pretty big claim, bro, you sure it can live up to that?”  She asked, floating over to Taako.  He grinned at her, determination on his face.

 

“I’m pretty fuckin sure.” 

 

“Well shit, then, don’t let me stop you.  Lead the way.”

 

Taako turned on his heel and marched right back out the door, Lup following behind him and his heart beating fast. He had been waiting for this day for months now, working with Barry to complete this in secret. It had been nice to spend some more time with Barry, although Taako would never ever say that to his face, and it had been really nice to know that this project was actually working. He only trusted Barry to do this. 

 

“So where are we goin’?” Lup asked as she floated behind her brother. Taako held up a hand to silence her.

 

“Nope, nope, no way. It’s a surprise.” 

 

Lup laughed lightly but fell silent as Taako left the house, setting off with a determined stride into the woods.  It was a bit of a hike, but for once Taako didn’t mind.  The woods seemed brighter today, the sun streaming through the leaves.  When they broke through the treeline again, Lup paused.  

 

“Uh, ‘Ko, did you mean to go to Barry’s old cave?  I get it if you got lost, we all fuck up sometimes.”

 

“I know exactly what I’m doing at all points of my life.” Taako proclaimed, continuing towards the mouth of the cave.  He hoped Barry had finished up the last few things, he didn’t want to have to wait any more than he already had. 

 

“Mhmm, sure you do.” Lup said as Taako entered the cave.  Her voice was skeptical, she obviously didn’t get why he was leading her here, but he didn’t expect that to last much longer.  As soon as they entered the main area of the cave she’d understand.  He pushed forward, his ears starting to flick back and forth as his heart sped up.  Pushing aside the curtain to the main room, a grin split his face.  He heard a gasp behind him.  

 

There, right in front of them, suspended in a vat of sickening green liquid, was a body.   _ Lup’s _ body.  Grown from DNA on the note she had left behind, watched over for months by her brother and boyfriend, carefully crafted to be just as it was when she died.  Perfect.  

 

Lup flew forward, a red blur in the air as she stopped hesitantly at the vat.  Her skeletal hand reached out, stroking the glass but not passing through.  

 

“Well?  You gonna get in?” Barry asked from his seat at the workbench.  He was surrounded by books, his notes from years of using that machine, recently broken out one more time.  

 

“I…it’s me.” Lup said, her voice breathy and quiet.  Taako laughed, leaning against a wall of the cave.

 

“Hell yeah it’s you, goofus.  What, didja think we were gonna get some rando’s DNA to make you a new body?” 

 

“Well...no.” Lup chuckled.  “I just...thank you.”

 

Then she phased her hand through the glass of the pod, followed by the rest of her spectral body, and soon it vanished.  It was absorbed into the body, which was curled in a fetal position, and it only took a few seconds before Taako saw a finger twitch through the murky liquid.  He moved over to the edge of the pod, mirrored by Barry on the opposite side, and waited for Lup to break out.  

 

Soon a crack spread across the glass membrane of the pod, and it shattered, sending green fluid spilling onto the floor.  Lup fell forward, and Barry and Taako caught her before she hit the ground.  She laughed lightly as she wiped the fluid from around her eyes and pushed herself up off their arms.  

 

“Gods, this feels weird.” She murmured, twitching her ears experimentally and touching her face. There was a light smile on her face though, the face that Taako has waited much too long to see again, and he knew Barry felt the same way. Then she pursed her lips. 

 

“Please tell me you brought clothes, otherwise I might just self-destruct right here and go on being a lich for eternity.” She said, alternating between staring at Barry and staring at Taako.  Taako shrugged.

 

“Well…..” He dragged out.  Lup narrowed her eyes.

 

“You’d better have brought clothes, Koko.”

 

Barry put a hand on her shoulder before Taako could make it worse and led her over to a pile of clothes in the corner.  She ducked into a side tunnel to get dressed, and Barry turned to Taako.

 

“You know, I’m glad it’s just us here.  It’d be too much to have all seven of us crammed in this cave.” He said.  Taako leaned against the wall behind him, his ears low and relaxed.

 

“Yeah.  I get it.  I think she’s happy it’s just us too.” 

 

“Thanks for helping me with this.” Barry said softly, leaning next to Taako. Taako scoffed. 

 

“Well I wasn’t gonna  _ not _ help you, this is my fuckin’ sister. I’ve known her the longest, you needed me to help.” He retorted, but his voice held no trace of the entitlement that the words suggested. 

 

As soon as Lup turned the corner of the other tunnel, adjusting the red jacket on her shoulders, Taako and Barry were rushing over. Taako would never admit to the way he gently grabbed her hands and watched her face, the way he pulled her into a hug that was  _ long _ overdue, but Lup knew. Lup saw the emotions swimming in his eyes, and she hugged him tightly. It was half to feel him in her arms again, and half to steady herself as her feet struggled to hold her up. Then she turned, made her way to Barry, and grabbed his face.  Before she even said anything, Taako rolled his eyes with a fond grin on his face and left the cave, knowing he didn’t want to watch his sister make out with her boyfriend. 

 

Once outside the cave he leaned against a tree and watched the birds wheel through the sky.  A part of him noted that there were seven, and a wry smile made its way onto his face.  

 

* * *

 

“Yo Mags, can you get everyone to my house for dinner tonight?” Taako said into his Stone of Farspeech, absentmindedly stirring a pot with a Mage Hand.  Next to him, Lup was cutting vegetables, a small, serene smile on her face as she  _ felt _ things for the first time in over a decade.  

 

“Fuck yes, I’ve missed your food.” Magnus excitedly replied.  “I’ll have everyone there by six.”

 

“Cool cool, thanks compadre.” Taako put his Stone back in the pocket of his apron and leaned over to snatch a cucumber slice from Lup’s cutting board.  

 

“Hm.  You lost your touch, Lulu.  I think you should make the rest of dinner.” He smirked, leaning against the counter.  She stuck her tongue out at him.  

 

“Oh fuck off, Taako.  You’re makin’ this godsdamn dinner with me.” 

 

“Oh am I?  I think you should have some practice, who had the cooking show?” Taako teased.  Lup waved the knife in his direction.

 

“Mhmm, and whomst was the one that blew up the kitchen in cycle 36?”

 

“As I recall, that was Barry.” Taako said.  Barry poked his head into the kitchen.

 

“What did I do?” he asked.  

 

“Blew up the kitchen in cycle 36.” The twins answered in unison.  Barry shrugged.

 

“Oh, yeah, that was me.  I tried to make macaroni and it, uh, didn’t work.” 

 

“This is why you’re banned from the kitchen.” Taako sighed, and Barry just looked dejected for a moment before agreeing and going back to whatever he was doing.  Lup turned back to her cutting, laughing lightly, and it only took a few seconds for them to get back into their zone.  The cooking sped by, the two of them working in harmony like they used to, with only a few hiccups as Lup was still getting used to having a physical body.  Taako was never going to let her live down trying to stick her hand  _ through _ a cabinet door to get something rather than opening it.  

 

At 6:10, the doorbell rang and Barry shouted that he’d get it.  Taako and Lup were just finishing getting everything on plates, and as they heard Magnus crush Barry in a hug, he shooed Lup into the other room.  They were doing this the right way.  The Dramatic way.  

 

Merle was the last one to arrive, as usual, and Davenport walked in behind him.  The gnome was lecturing him on the importance of actually arriving on time, but Merle just brushed it off.  

 

“I don’t know why you still try, Dav.” Magnus said, shaking his head.  “He’s never gonna stop showing up half an hour late.”

 

“He claims it’s ‘fashionably late’” Davenport sighed.  “There’s nothing fashionable about being late.”

 

“There is when  _ I _ do it!” Taako announced throwing open the door with a loud bang.  He had changed into a floor-length dress with a faux fur jacket and his hair was done up in a large updo.  

 

“Ah, our  _ gracious _ host.” Merle drawled, not looking over at Taako.  “Are we finally gonna eat?” 

 

“You just got here, old man, maybe I should make you wait a little longer while I get everyone else their food first.” Taako threatened.  Before Merle could retort, Lucretia looked around from her spot on the couch.

 

“Where’s Lup?” She asked.  Taako shrugged.  

 

“She’s gettin’ some last minute shit ready, she’ll be out in a minute.”

 

“Can she get things ready?  I thought she couldn’t really help you in the kitchen without her physical form.” Lucretia cocked her head.  

 

“We found out she could do some small stuff.” Barry added, winking quickly at Taako when no one was watching.  “Nothing big but she can like, add garnish and stuff.  Did I say that right?” The last part was directed at Taako, who rolled his eyes.

 

“Yes, Barold, for once you got kitchen vernacular correct.  Well done.  Now all you fuckers come to the table, Taako wants to  _ eat _ .”

 

As the others made their way into the dining room, Taako ducked into the kitchen, where Lup was back after having changed into new clothes.  She grinned at him as he shut the door.

 

“We doin’ this?” She asked.  Taako scoffed.

 

“Of course we are.  How do you wanna do your big entrance?”

 

“I’m thinking...you start passing around the first course, then I enter through the other door and start passing out the sides.  I wanna see how long it takes them to notice.” Lup chuckled.  

 

“You do know that no one is gonna eat this meal we spent hours preparing, right?”

 

“Oh yeah no, that was a complete waste of time, it’ll be cold by the time they calm down enough to eat.  I’m still glad we made it though.” Lup nudged Taako with her shoulder, and Taako instinctively moved with her as she pulled back, so their shoulders stayed touching.  

 

“Yeah.  Me too.”

 

Before it got too suspicious, Taako grabbed the dishes containing the first course and strode into the dining room, announcing loudly what the food was and how much labor he put into making this.  The rest of them just nodded along as they took the food from him, completely aware that it really wasn’t hard for him to make the meal.  A few minutes later, the door across from him opened silently and Lup entered in her black tailored suit, coattails streaming behind her as she started passing out rolls and the vegetables she had made.  Taako’s lips twitched as Magnus thanked her without a second glance, and Merle didn’t even react.  Barry was openly grinning, and Davenport and Lucretia were staring at Lup, their jaws dropped.  It wasn’t until Lup handed the plate to Lucretia that Magnus did a double take.  

 

“Wait... _ Lup _ ?” He exclaimed, immediately standing up and sending his chair flying behind him.  Lup cracked a grin before doubling over in laughter. 

 

“When did this happen, I just saw you a few days ago?” Lucretia asked, smiling widely.  

 

“Taako and I have been growing her body for months, it was only ready this morning.” Barry explained, standing up as well.  Taako had set down the trays of food and was next to Lup, resting his arm on her shoulder.  It took a few more seconds before Magnus darted over and crushed Lup in a hug, unfortunately miscalculating his arm span and catching Taako in the embrace as well. 

 

“ _ Fuck _ , Mags lemme go!” He struggled to pry off Magnus’s arms, but failed miserably.  Lup just laughed and pulled Taako farther into the hug.  The others soon joined in, surrounding Lup in a group hug, her first in years.  She was grinning, her eyes shut tight as her ears twitched back and forth, and Taako wrenched his arm out of Magnus’s death grip to wrap it around her shoulders.  She made no visual indication she noticed, but she leaned closer to him. 

 

Lup wasn’t too far off in her prediction, the meal was indeed almost cold when the group hug finally disbanded.  Taako argued it was technically still lukewarm, but it wasn’t warm enough either way.  Magnus still ate it, though, but neither of them counted that.  It was late anyway, and so they just packed all the food into containers and gave one to everyone, so that it didn’t go to waste.  

 

Everyone was reluctant to leave, even after smothering Lup they still were revelling over her getting her body back, but Taako declared it Twin Time (plus Barry).   They still took over a half an hour getting out of the damn house.  

 

“Jeez, finally.” Taako said, shutting the door behind Magnus and Lucretia, but there was a small smile on his face.  He turned and walked back over to where Lup and Barry were standing, their arms already intertwined.  “I’m only gonna say this once, but I need to cuddle with my  _ fucking _ sister.  And her boyfriend, I guess.”

 

“It’s been over fifty years, Taako, you don’t have to pretend we’ve never had cuddle piles before.” Barry laughed.  Taako draped himself over Lup, shaking his head.

 

“Nope, didn’t happen.  Taako doesn’t ‘cuddle’.” He protested, and Lup reached up to flick his ears.  

 

“You just said you wanted to cuddle, Taako.  What is the truth?” She grinned, all while the three of them wandered to Barry and Lup’s bedroom and ended up in a literal pile on the bed.  Lup was in the middle, and Taako’s head was resting on the crook of her neck.  He would never admit this, but he needed this as much as Lup did.  After ten years of not remembering her, he needed her even more.  And he wasn’t letting her go anywhere for a long time, or else she might just....disappear again.  

 

He would never say any of this, but he didn’t have to.  She already knew, and she felt the same way.  

 

As Taako lay there, entwined with two of the most important people in his life (it was still weird that that number was higher than one), he relaxed his mission of intently studying Lup’s face to make sure nothing went wrong with the pod, and he let his eyes droop shut.  He could hear her steady heartbeat under his ear, and he felt his own heartbeat slow to match hers.  

 

He tried to stay awake, but as he lay in the arms of his sister for the first time in much too long, he couldn’t help but drift off to his first peaceful sleep in years.  

**Author's Note:**

> The Obligatory 'Lup Gets Her Body Back' Fic. i love these twins a lot, have i said that before?


End file.
